Sunday, April 18, 2004

CTBA ready to assemble national teams

2004 Taiwanese Men’s NT is expected to be selected by CTBA and starts training in late-May. Taiwanese Men’s NT will participate in two competitions, both held in Taiwan, this year – the William Jones Cup and the inaugural Stankovic Cup (aka Asian Cup).

Jones Cup, which was cancelled last year because of SARS outbreak, will be held this year from July 17th to 31st (subject to change). Stankovic Cup, which is sanctioned by FIBA Asia, is scheduled from November 19th to 25th. Both events will be held in Taipei.

U-18 and U-20 Men’s teams will also be selected shortly. U-18 team will start training on June 28th and go to India in August for Asian U-18 Men’s Championship. U-20 team will start training in mid-August and head for Tehran, Iran for Asian U-20 Men’s Championship in September.

On women’s side, A-League Champ Kuo-tai Life will represent Taiwan to play in the Women’s World Cup Preliminary Games, which will be held Taipei also.

Asian U-18 Women’s Championship, originally to be held in Malaysia, will be postponed to the end of the year. The hosting country will be decided later. CTBA will also pull back the starting time of the training camp.

In total, CTBA will send out seven national teams to the international tournaments this year.

Regular season MVP - Tien Lei

Dacin Construction forward Tien Lei was voted by media as the 2003-04 SBL regular season MVP with his versatile performance. Tien, who averaged 22 points(#2 in the league), 11.6 rebounds(#1), 2.4 steals(#1) and 2.6 blocks(#2), had a total of 95 points to lead all candidates.

MVP Voting
Tien Lei (Dacin) 95 points
Chou Jun-san (SINA) 81 points
Lin Chih-jay (Taiwan Beer) 22 points

Yulon wins SBL title

Yulon overcame double-digit deficit for the third consecutive game and edged SINA 68-65 to win the inaugural SBL champion. Yulon swept SINA 3-0 in the best-of-five series.

Yulon forward Chen Hsin-an, who averaged 17.7 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in the series, was voted Finals MVP.

Yulon met a team whose back against the wall tonight and quickly found themselves once again trail by 10 in mid-second quarter. But Chou Shih-yuan’s hothand kept Yulon close the gap in halftime, when they cut the score to 34-35, and made the game brand new.

Summary
Yulon 68-65 SINA (Half 34-35)
Yulon – Chou Shih-yuan 20p, Chen Chih-chun 15p, Chen Hsin-an 9p, Tsun Wen-din 5p+6rb+3blk
SINA – Lo Shin-liang 15p+9rb, Liu Yi-hsiang 11p+8rb+3blk, Chou Jun-san 11p, Huang Chun-hsiung 8p+9rb

SBL Post-Season Awards

(Selected by Asia-Basket.com correspondent Chris Wang)

Player of the Year – Tien Lei (Dacin)

Coach of the Year – Chien Yi-fei (Yulon)

Defensive Player of the Year – Chang Chi-feng (Dacin)

Sixth Man of the Year – Lee Wei-min (Taiwan Beer)

All-SBL First Team
PF Tien Lei (Dacin)
SF Lin Chih-jay (Taiwan Beer)
C Tsun Wen-din (Yulon)
SG Yang Yu-min (Jutai)
PG Chou Jun-san (SINA)

All-SBL Second Team
PF Lee Chi-yi (Mars)
SF Chen Hsin-an (Yulon)
C Wu Dai-hao (Jutai)
SG Lo Shin-liang (SINA)
PG Chen Shih-nian (Taiwan Beer)

All-Defensive Team
F Lee Chi-yi (Mars)
F Huang Chun-hsiung (SINA)
C Tsun Wen-din (Yulon)
G Chang Chi-feng (Dacin)
G Chen Chih-chun (Yulon)

Saturday, April 17, 2004

Yulon edged SINA in OT, one win away from title

Chen Hsin-an had 26 points and 7 assists and led Yulon to another thrilling come-from-behind victory, which they beat SINA 78-76 in overtime and took a 2-0 lead in 2004 SBL Finals.

Yulon is one win away from the title and have a chance to sweep SINA. Game Three will be played tomorrow night.

For the second straight game, Yulon trailed by double digit before halftime. SINA came out of the gate to take 23-8 and 32-18 lead. But Yulon never panicked. With their full-court pressure defense, Yulon was able to cut the deficit down to one point, 42-43, before halftime.

After that it has been a see-saw game for both teams. Yulon had a chance to wrap up the game but committed two turnovers in the final minute of regulation. SINA also missed their chance as Kao Li-min made only one of two free-throws with 29.4 seconds remaining.

With 4.2 seconds left in overtime and Yulon leading by three, Kao Li-min had another mental mistake as he tried to made a layup instead of shooting a three. Kao was fouled with 0.8 seconds left and made one of two free-throws.

Chen Hsin-an made 5-of-11 from the three-point range. PG Chen Chih-chun, who was 6-for-8 in the game, also made a couple key shots for Yulon.

Lo Shin-liang had another outstanding game with 31 points and 11 rebounds. He was 11-for-17 from the field.

Summary
Yulon 78-76(OT) SINA (Half 42-43, Regulation 68-68)
Yulon – Chen Hsin-an 26p+5rb+7a, Chen Chih-chun 15p+7rb, Tsun Wen-din 14p+8rb+5blk, Chiu Chi-yi 13p
SINA – Lo Shin-liang 31p+11rb, Chou Jun-san 13p, Liu Yi-hsiang 12p+9rb, Huang Chun-hsiung 7p+6rb, Kao Li-min 8p

Thursday, April 15, 2004

SBL Finals Game 1 – Yulon routs SINA 78-55

Summary
Yulon 78-55 SINA (Half 40-36)
Yulon – Tsun Wen-din 20p+9rb, Chen Hsin-an 18p+5rb+6a, Chou Shih-yuan 10p, Wei Yong-tai 9p+7rb
SINA – Lo Shin-liang 20p, Chou Jun-san 16p+9rb

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

SINA will meet Yulon in SBL Finals

SINA veterans rose to the occasion as they played flawless 40 minutes in the deciding Game Three of the first round playoffs, beating Dacin 81-69 to rally from a 0-1 deficit and won the series. As expected, SINA will meet No.1 Yulon in the Finals.

Chou Jun-san and Lo Shin-laing, both over 32 years-old, proved once again they are the best backcourt combination. Chou made 8-of-13 from the field, including 3-for-3 from 3-point line, and scored 19. Lo had one of his best performances of the season with 18 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 6 steals.

Tien Lei had 30 points and 11 rebounds and tried to carry Dacin on his own. But Dacin failed to get over the hump in the second half.

SINA will meet Yulon in Game 1 of the SBL Finals Thursday.

Summary
SINA 81-69 Dacin (Half 39-37)
SINA – Chou Jun-san 19p+5rb+4a, Lo Shin-liang 18p+9rb+7a+6s, Huang Chun-hsiung 15p+5rb, Hsu Yong-yi 11p, Kao Li-min 10p
Dacin – Tien Lei 30p+11rb, Hsu Chi-chao 11p, Cheng Chan-jun 10p

Monday, April 12, 2004

Yulon beat Mars 2-1, advanced to Finals

Yulon proved once again defense wins games. Yulon forced Mars to four consecutive turnovers in the last two minutes in the deciding 72-61 victory and finally won the series 2-1 over the short-handed opponent.

Mars center Lai Kuo-hong committed three of four turnovers in the last two minutes under tight defense by Yulon’s Wu Chih-wei, whose one-handed dunk earlier inspired Yulon to make the final push. Yulon was able to pull away with an 8-0 run and iced the victory with a 10-point lead.

Chen Hsin-an had 20 points, with half his points coming from free-throw line. Tsun Wen-din also dominated underneath, collecting 19 points and 13 rebounds. But Wu Chih-wei, with his inspiring dunk and brilliant defense, was obviously the unsung hero tonight.

Yulon advanced to the SBL Finals, where they will meet the winner of SINA-Dacin series. The best-of-five SBL Finals will start on April 15th.

Summary
Yulon 72-61 Mars (Half 33-25)
Yulon – Chen Hsin-an 20p+7rb, Tsun Wen-din 19p+13rb+3blk, Chou Shih-yuan 11p, Wu Chih-wei 10p+9rb
Mars – Yang Che-yi 19p+6rb, Lin Shin-hwa 13p+7rb, Lai Kuo-hong 10p+8rb

Sunday, April 11, 2004

SINA tied series at 1-1

It’s probably ugly, but SINA can take it. SINA beat Dacin 62-54 in an ugly game in which both teams couldn’t find the basket. SINA tied the first round series at 1-1.

SINA shot only 24-for-67 (35.8%) from the field, including 1-for-19 from the 3-point territory. But Dacin was even worse. With only 19 field goals made (19-for-62, 30.6%), they couldn’t go anywhere and trailed from the beginning.

Both teams shot poor in the perimeter tonight. Naturally, SINA went with their strength – the inside. SINA frontline dominated the game, as Liu Yi-hsiang and Huang Chun-hsiung combined for 33 points and 21 rebounds.

Tien Lei had a double-double (15 points, 15 rebounds) as usual but was plagued by two early fouls in the first quarter. And he had one of the worst shooting night of the season, making only 6 of 21 shots.

Summary
SINA 62-54 Dacin (Half 32-25)
SINA – Liu Yi-hsiang 19p+7rb, Huang Chun-hsiung 14p+14rb, Lo Shin-liang 11p+6rb
Dacin – Tien Lei 15p+15rb+3s+3blk, Lee Fong-yong 12p+8rb

Saturday, April 10, 2004

Mars routed Yulon, forced 1-1 tie

Facing elimination and playing without injured starting PG Yen Shin-shu for the second consecutive game, Mars refused to say goodbye to their season. Led by Lee Chi-yi’s 20 points and 11 rebounds, Mars routed Yulon 89-69 tonight to force a 1-1 tie in the first round playoff series.

Mars had five players scoring in double figures in the victory, the first in five meetings against Yulon this season. Everything just clicked for Mars in the game, as they rallied from 41-42 halftime deficit to take a lead after a 17-4 run early in the second half.

Yulon was totally out of sync on both ends of the court. Maybe they were cursed tonight because, unbelievably, the best team in the regular season made only 10-of-28 free-throws.

Chen Hsin-an struggled for the second straight game, shooting 4-for-15 from the floor and 0-of-4 at the charity stripe. He had 19 points in Game 1 but also shot poorly, making 7-for-21.

Summary
Mars 89-69 Yulon (Half 41-42)
Mars – Lee Chi-yi 20p+11rb+3blk, Lin Jia-huang 19p+3a, Lin Shin-hwa 15p+11rb, Lai Kuo-hong 11p, Chen Huei 10p
Yulon – Chou Shih-yuan 19p, Chen Chih-chun 13p, Wei Yong-tai 10p+5rb, Chen Hsin-an 9p(4-15 FG)+7rb, Tsun Wen-din 5p+9rb

Friday, April 09, 2004

Lee Fong-yong leads Dacin past SINA

Lee Fong-yong had a team-high 25 points on 5-for-7 3-point shooting as Dacin beat SINA 87-84 and took the 1-0 lead in the SBL first round playoffs. Brilliant as usual, Tien Lei had 19 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in the victory.

Lee Fong-yong finally proved he could be a big-game player. And with the inspiration from his elder brother, who was announced brain dead because of an auto accident, no one can stop him tonight. Lee was 10-for-14 from the field.

Tien Lei was heavily covered by SINA and took a backseat offensively to Lee, but he still controlled the paint.

Lo Shin-liang and Huang Chun-hsiung also broke out of the slump and combined for 50 points. SINA made the final push in the final minute, but Lo Shin-liang missed two potential game-tying 3-pointers in the last three seconds.

Summary
Dacin 87-84 SINA (42-39)
Dacin – Lee Fong-yong 25p, Tien Lei 19p+11rb+3a+2s+3blk, Chang Chi-feng 14p, Huang Chih-chun 12p+6rb+5a+3s
SINA – Lo Shin-liang 30p+6rb, Huang Chun-hsiung 20p+13rb+2blkLiu Yi-hsiang 16p, Chou Jun-san 12p+6rb+5a

Thursday, April 08, 2004

Yulon edged Mars in playoff opening game

No.1 seed Yulon (19-5) continued its dominance over No.4 seed Mars (12-12) with a 72-66 victory over Mars to open the first round SBL playoffs with a 1-0 lead. Chen Hsin-an had a subpar shooting night but still had a game-high 19 points in the low-scoring game. Yulon swept regular season series against Mars 4-0.

No.2 SINA (14-10) will open its playoff series with No.3 Dacin (13-11) tomorrow.

Summary
Yulon 72-66 Mars (Half 35-29)
Yulon – Chen Hsin-an 19p(7-21 FG)+4a, Wei Yong-tai 14p+11rb, Chou Shih-yuan 11p, Chiu Chi-yi 10p+6rb
Mars – Lee Chi-yi 13p+10rb+3s, Lin Jia-huang 13p, Lai Kuo-hong 13p, Chen Huei 10p+3s, Yang Che-yi 10p+6rb, Yen Shin-shu DNP

Monday, April 05, 2004

03-04 SBL regular season stats ranking

Scoring
Lin Chih-jay(TB) 24.5
Tien Lei(Dacin) 22.0
Yang Yu-min(Jutai) 20.0
Chen Hsin-an(Yulon) 16.9
Lo Shin-liang(SINA) 15.3

Rebounding
Tien Lei(Dacin) 11.6
Wu Dai-hao(Jutai) 8.8
Lee Chi-yi(Mars) 8.4
Tsun Wen-din(Yulon) 7.9
Huang Chun-hsiung(SINA) 7.9

Assists
Chen Shih-nian(TB) 5.5
Chou Jun-san(SINA) 5.3
Yen Shin-shu(Mars) 4.6
Chen Huei(Mars) 3.6
Huang Chih-chun(Dacin) 3.5

Blocks
Tsun Wen-din(Yulon) 2.5
Tien Lei(Dacin) 2.4
Wu Dai-hao(Jutai) 2.1
Lee Chi-yi(Mars) 1.6
Chou Ben-tang(BOT) 1.3

Steals
Tien Lei(Dacin) 2.58
Yen Shin-shu(Mars) 2.56
Chen Shih-nian(TB) 2.04
Hsu Tse-shin(Jutai) 2.00
Chen Huei(Mars) 1.88

Sunday, April 04, 2004

SBL concludes regular season

The last day of the SBL regular season still give fans a lot surprises. Mars beat SINA 90-79 to grab the last playoff seed. Last-place Bank of Taiwan upset Taiwan Beer 91-73 in its last game.

Regular season standing:
1. Yulon 19-5; 2. SINA 14-10; 3. Dacin 13-11; 4. Mars 12-12; 5. Jutai 12-12; 6. Taiwan Beer 9-15; 7. Bank of Taiwan 5-19

The best-of-three first round playoffs will start on April 8th with No.1 Yulon takes on No.4 Mars. No.2 SINA meets No.3 Dacin on April 9th.

Summary
Mars 90-79 SINA (Half 59-40)
Mars - Lin Jia-huang 19p, Lee Chi-yi 18p+9rb, Lai Kuo-hong 18p+6rb, Yang Che-yi 12p+5rb+7a, Lin Shin-hwa 10p, Yen Shin-shu DNP
SINA - Chou Jun-san 20p+7a, Hsu Yong-yi 19p, Lo Shin-liang 14p

Bank of Taiwan 91-73 Taiwan Beer (Half 42-46)
BOT - Hsu Hao-cheng 27p+15rb+4a, Chuang Xiao-wen 15p, Chien Ming-fu 12p+7rb+4a, Lin Chun-feng 12p, Ju Yong-hong 10p+8rb+4a, Chou Ben-tang 8p+7rb+8blk
TB - Lin Chih-jay 32p+8rb, Chen Shih-nian 13p+6a, Pan Jen-der 9p, Lee Wei-min 7p+8rb+3s

SBL Playoffs schedule

First Round (Best-of-Three)
(1) Yulon vs. (4) Mars
Game 1: April 8th
Game 2: April 10th
Game 3: April 12th

(2) SINA vs. (3) Dacin
Game 1: April 9th
Game 2: April 11th
Game 3: April 13th

Finals (Best-of-Five)
Game 1: April 15th
Game 2: April 17th
Game 3: April 18th
Game 4: April 23rd
Game 5: April 25th

Saturday, April 03, 2004

Jutai keeps postseason hope alive

Yang Yu-min tallied his season-high 33 points as Jutai routed Taiwan Beer 97-77 tonight to keep their postseason hope alive. Dacin clinched the No.3 seed after beating Yulon 85-77.

Jutai finished the season 12-12 but has to rely on SINA’s victory over Mars tomorrow to advance to the playoffs as the No.4 seed. Mars will advance to the playoffs if they beat SINA.

More than likely, Jutai will be out of the playoffs.

The first round playoffs matchups will be No.1 Yulon vs. No.4 Mars (or Jutai) and No.2 SINA vs. No.3 Dacin, both in best-of-three format. Playoffs will start on April 8.

Summary
4/3
Jutai 97-77 Taiwan Beer (Half 51-35)
Jutai - Yang Yu-min 33p+5a, Wu Dai-hao 16p+7rb+4a+3blk, Hsu Tse-shin 14p, O-Yang Jin-hen 12p, Shan Wei-fan 10p+15rb
TB - Lin Chih-jay 27p+6p+3a, Chen Jian-chou 12p+8rb, Liao Wei-chen 10p, Chen Shih-nian 8p+7rb+8a+3s

Dacin 85-77 Yulon (Half 44-32)
Dacin - Tien Lei 25p+13rb+2s+2blk, Chang Chi-feng 16p, Lee Fong-yong 15p+8rb, Hsu Chi-chao 15p+6rb
Yulon - Chou Hong-yu 16p+6rb, Chou Shih-yuan 14p, Lee Chih-ming 11p+8a, Chen Hsin-an 8p

4/2
SINA 82-75 Bank of Taiwan (Half 47-33)
SINA - Hsu Yong-yi 19p, Lin Yu-shu 13p, Chen Shi-jay 10p, Kao Li-min 8p+8rb
BOT - Hsu Hao-cheng 19p+6a, Ju Yong-hong 19p+14rb, Chuang Xiao-wen 13p, Liu Che-lang 11p+7rb, Lin Chun-feng 10p